5 Possible opponents Rey Mysterio could face on his NJPW debut

Professional Wrestling veteran Rey Mysterio is arguably one of the greatest Mexican luchador wrestlers of all time. Even at the age of 43, 'The Master of the 619' has been dazzling fans all around the world with his astonishing in-ring performances.

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Mysterio, who recently competed in a WWE ring as part of the 2018 Royal Rumble and The Greatest Royal Rumble match, is now set to pursue a brand new journey in his illustrious Pro Wrestling career, as he gets set to step into an NJPW ring for the very first time.

Mysterio was originally scheduled to face Jushin 'Thunder' Liger at NJPW: Strong Style Evolved earlier this year, however, due to an untimely injury, the former WWE World Champion had to pull out from the match and is instead slated to make his NJPW debut at this year's Dominion 6.9 pay-per-view in Osaka.

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But, as of right now, NJPW is yet to announce an official opponent for Mysterio and therefore, here are five potential opponents for Mysterio whom he could face upon his New Japan debut.

#5 Jushin 'Thunder' Liger

Both Rey Mysterio and Jushin 'Thunder' Liger have experienced similar types of career in the Pro Wrestling Industry and both men previously faced-off against each other at WCW: Starrcade 1996.

On one hand, Mysterio has been considered as one of the greatest high-flying Superstars to be a part of the WWE, whereas, Liger has been the pioneer of the NJPW Jr. Heavyweight Division.

After the cancellation of the original match between the two masked legends, in my mind, it'll be a fair decision to re-book this match for this year's Dominion event.

#4 Kushida

Considered as 'The Ace of The Junior Heavyweights', former five-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Kushida has pretty much-accomplished everything in NJPW's 220-pound division and a potential dream match against the legendary Rey Mysterio is certainly going to solidify the 35-year-old's legacy in the Jr. Heavyweight Division as well.

Despite both Kushida and Mysterio being Jr. Heavyweights, both men have very unusual in-ring styles and approach, with the former being much more of a Technical Wrestler, whereas, Mysterio likes to execute more of a jaw-dropping and high-flying stints inside the squared circle.

A match between the two men promises an interesting encounter at NJPW’s second biggest show of the year could do wonders and in addition, there have also been talks of Kushida potentially moving one up to the Heavyweight Division, so maybe this could turn out to be the perfect farewell from the Junior Heavyweight for ‘The Time Splitter’?

#3 Hiromu Takahashi

Ever since making his NJPW return from his CMLL excursion, Hiromu Takahashi has competed at the very highest level in NJPW's Jr. heavyweight Division and has become one of the major contenders in NJPW’s Jr. Heavyweight Division.

In his first match back in Japan, Takahashi managed to pin then-IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Kushida in a tag team match and at Wrestle Kingdom 11 at the Tokyo Dome, ‘The Ticking Time Bomb’ once again got the better off ‘The Time Splitter’, in order to win the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career.

However, with the likes of Will Ospreay, Taiji Ishimori, and Marty Scurll shining better than ever in the Junior Heavyweight Division, Takahashi’s prominence has clearly decreased simultaneously and it is about time for the Los Ingobernables de Japon member to once again re-establish himself as the ace of the Junior Heavyweights. What better way to start other than a massive one-on-one match and a potential victory over Rey Mysterio at Dominion?

Clearly, Hiromu Takahashi vs Rey Mysterio is the money match that fans have been wanting to see for a while now and it is about time for New Japan Pro Wrestling to capitalize on this opportunity and finally book this mega showdown at their second biggest show of the year.

#2 Third entrant in the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship match at Dominion

Now this one does sound very unlikely and odd, but a triple threat match between current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, Rey Mysterio, and the winner of this year’s Best of Super Juniors tournament—most likely to be Taiji Ishimori—promises to be an absolute mouthwatering showdown.

Following Will Ospreay’s win over Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger at NJPW: Strong Style Evolved earlier this year, ‘The Aerial Assassin’ seemingly went on to challenge Rey Mysterio to a potential match in the near future and this seems to be the perfect time to bank on it.

Ospreay and Mysterio previously squared-off last year at the WCPW: Pro Wrestling World Cup in a match which was absolutely stunning and if NJPW decides to add Taiji Ishimori to the mix on this occasion then we could very well witness one of the best matches of 2018.

#1 Marty Scurll

After making his debut for NJPW debut almost a year ago, Marty Scurll has already earned a vast amount of success in NJPW’s Junior Heavyweight Division. ‘The Villain’ is a former one-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and the current Never Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champion as well, alongside Matt and Nick Jackson—The Young Bucks.

Additionally, it is also worth noting that at NJPW: Strong Style Evolved, ‘The Villain’ once again made his presence felt when he attacked both Will Ospreay and Rey Mysterio from the back, seemingly attacking the latter in a brutal manner with his umbrella and snatching away Mysterio’s signature mask as well, which was certainly the biggest sign of disrespect.

Thus, the most sensible match from here on for Rey Mysterio is a one-on-one showdown against Marty Scurll and Rey could very well look to ignite the feud in the first place for being disrespected by ‘The Villain’.

The two men previously squared-off at RevPro UK’s Summer Sizzler show in 2017 and much like Ospreay vs Mysterio, this was another instant classic which deserves a much bigger spotlight, that could very well be provided by New Japan Pro Wrestling at Dominion 6.9.

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Edited by Shruti Sadbhav